


Where we go from here

by jessahmewren



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, Episode: s07e17 All Things, F/M, MSR, Morning After
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 07:32:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13359501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessahmewren/pseuds/jessahmewren
Summary: An All Things morning after fic.





	Where we go from here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InvisiKath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvisiKath/gifts).



-0-0-0-

She smoothed her hands on the surface of his desk, steadying her breathing.  Suddenly, it became the muscled plane of his back tensing beneath the pads of her fingers.  She drew them away as if the desk had suddenly become hot to the touch.

So, they’d had sex.

Scully smiled at the memory. Waking up on his couch, his blanket tucked under his chin. She could have easily left, but it was just as easy to stay…stay and receive his comfort, his love.  She had padded into the bedroom and slipped under the sheets with him. She had pressed her warm body against his and never looked back.

Why then did she leave?

It wasn’t a walk of shame, she’d told herself.  She certainly didn’t regret it.  Yet here she sat a full hour before she normally arrived to work, showered, dressed and ready for the day as if nothing had ever happened.  She had raced home and washed all traces of Mulder from her skin. A little pang of loss tugged at the corners of her mind, but she pushed it away.

She stood, busying herself with needless activity.  She delved into the x-files, laying out the day’s cases.  Mulder would be in soon, she thought.  She smoothed the iron-grey suit she’d chosen, the dark blue blouse that barely lit her irises in the dim basement.  

 _They were adults.  They would handle this like adults_.  She realized stupidly that her heartrate was slightly elevated.  

From a distant point, she heard the soft ding of the elevator.  

Scully slid the drawer closed with a thud, laying another file on the desk.  She realized then that she had probably pulled too many.  The desktop was littered with red and white file folders.  

When Mulder opened the door, he found her standing in a dirty spot of sunlight from the one basement window.  She was leafing through a case file and did not look up.

His mouth quirked a little in surprise.  It was not yet 7:30 am.  “What are you doing here, Scully?”

She looked up from mindlessly flipping through the case file to see Mulder standing in the doorway looking shower-fresh yet somehow still a little unrefined.  His brown hair stuck up in different directions and was partially wet, as if he was in a rush to get here.  His tie was louder than the family of four that lived down the hall from her. He was devastatingly handsome.

She gave him a wry grin despite her nervousness.  “I work here, remember?”  

He huffed a laugh, and then he locked eyes with her with a warmth that was not unfamiliar but was more intimate than what she was used to.  “I looked for you this morning.”  

Scully cleared her throat, her previous nervousness seeping back into the cells of her body.  “I had to go,” she said quietly.  Mulder simply looked at her, worrying his lower lip. If she strained, she could hear the cogs of his thoughts click into place.  

He said nothing, but crossed to where she was standing, set his briefcase down beside his desk and sat behind the mound of casefiles that was scattered willy-nilly on the surface. He gave Scully a curious glance.  “You planning on working us to the bone, Scully?”

She gave him a prim smile, tucking one strand of hair behind her ear.  “These are just some of the ones we haven’t finished from last week,” she began, “as far as this week—“she stretched her arm across the desk, reaching for the far pile, and he caught her wrist.  He let his thumb graze along the fine skin there.  “What did you mean when you said you had to go,” he sad into her ear. “Do you regret last night, Scully?”

There it was, she thought. She closed her eyes, and her chin dropped to her chest.  

“Tell me,” he said as he mouthed her wrist.  His tongue was hot, but it still sent chills along her exposed flesh.

“No.”

It was so quiet he scarcely heard it, but he smiled nonetheless. He opened her palm and placed it against the side of his face. He closed his eyes.  

“We can’t let things go back to the way they were Scully.”  

Scully pursed her lips. She looked down at him and drew her hand away.  “No. But we have to be careful.”

He looked crestfallen…crushed.  Like a child who had had his favorite toy taken away.  He stood, crossing to her.  Mulder put his arms around her, drawing her close.  She didn’t resist him.  “I love you Scully.  I want you at my side.  I always have.  I’m tired of denying that.  I want everyone to know it.”  

She almost smiled. He went in to kiss her, and she stopped him with three fingers over his lips.  Her eyes glittered with tears.  “They will use us against each other,” she said quietly. “You know it’s true.”  A single tear escaped her lashes.  “I can’t lose you for loving you.”  

He let out a mournful, decompressing sigh and pressed his forehead to hers.  They stayed that way for a long time.  

Mulder tilted her chin to his and kissed her leisurely, still marveling at the way her lips fit perfectly with his.  It was all so new, so perfect.  The air around them seemed to vibrate with a resonant hum.  

“So where do we go from here,” Scully said when they’d parted.  Mulder smoothed the sides of her hair with his large hands, framing her face. “I want deny us this Scully,” Mulder said huskily.  “I won’t. We deserve some kind of happiness.”  He looked at her and something inside her broke.  “We deserve that as much as the next person.”

She smiled and touched his face.  “Ok,” she said.  “We’ll see how it goes.”  

Mulder gave her a wide grin. “Oh I already know how it goes,” he said casually.  “I got a preview last night.”

She playfully slapped him on the shoulder, and they settled into their work for the day.  

Maybe things would be ok after all. 

-0-0-0-


End file.
